15 Years of Gaming, Part 11 (2005)

2005 was a relatively quiet year, titles wise. It more than makes up for this in major console releases. It's often a common occurrence that the dying embers of a console generation results in a creative wellspring of great games, and the Sixth Generation was no different. It just so happens that the wellspring was centered more around 2004 than 2005. Still, some solid games.


Resident Evil 4
Release Date: January 11, 2005.
Platform: Gamecube (later others)
ESRB Rating: M
Developer/Publisher: Capcom
GameRankings: 95.75%
Completely Arbitrary Personal Score: 8.6/10 (Very Good)

You might have noticed that this is the first Resident Evil game on my little countdown. Honestly, I could have easily put the first three on here and not had a second thought. The reason I didn't might seem somewhat trivial, but it's simple: RE4 made the others obsolete. Adopting a 3rd person, over the shoulder camera angle and a faster version of the survival-based gameplay Resident Evil made so famous, without sacrificing any of the terror the franchise so easily conjures. It doesn't hurt that RE4 was one of the best looking games of its time, either.

Another point I want to make about this game is how it legitimized the Gamecube as a viable outlet for M rated games. Nintendo's reputation since the N64 has been as a kid-centered console, with kid-centered games. This is a stereotype that they surely embrace and perpetuate, but it's a stereotype nonetheless. RE4 almost single-handedly changed that for good. That's quite a feat.

Star Wars: Republic Commando
Release Date: March 1, 2005
Platform: XBOX/PC
ESRB Rating: T
Developer/Publisher: LucasArts/Activision
GameRankings: 80.23%
Completely Arbitrary Personal Score: 7.1/10 (Solid)

Republic Commando, for all it's faults, is a solid game. It's not here because it's a Star Wars game. It's here because it's a good game. A surprisingly visceral, claustrophobic shooter with surprisingly adept squad AI and characterization, RC is possibly the only non-flight simulator Star Wars game you'll ever play with no lightsabers in sight. That's probably not as easy to do as you might think.

I mentioned the game's faults earlier, and I feel as though they need to be addressed. Don't fret, it's not as is these faults are some crippling gameplay mechanic, texture glitch or compatibility error. They're much simpler than that. It's just too short a game. A 10 hour campaign (at most) and a sparse, barely there multiplayer don't bode well for the ever-important replayability. Because of this, I rented the game once, then never played it again. I doubt I ever will. Still, it was fun.

Jade Empire
Release Date: April 12, 2005.
Platform: XBOX/PC
ESRB Rating: T
Developer/Publisher: BioWare/Microsoft
GameRankings: 89%
Completely Arbitrary Personal Score: 8.4/10 (Good)

Since their explosion as a Triple A gaming studio in the latter part of the 90s, nearly every one of BioWare's games has been both critically and commercially successful, and revered by their fans. Jade Empire is certainly no exception. The key between this game and the rest of BioWare's storied catalogue is that Jade Empire has never gotten a sequel. There have been hints that BioWare was interested, but fan (and more importantly, commercial) interests have never seemed to be all that intense.

This is a shame, because Jade Empire, much like literally every BioWare game, features a fully realized and convincing world for you to inhabit. This one, a creation of BioWare's own substantial creativity, draws heavy inspiration from various Chinese myths and legends. Combining this with the studios tried and true ability to write convincing social criticism, class conflict, ethical dilemma, and dry humor, and you have an uncommonly intelligent game. The fighting system is solid, too. Also, John Cleese shows up for a bit.

Star Wars: Battlefront II
Release Date: November 1, 2005.
Platform: XBOX/PS2/PC
ESRB Rating: T
Developer/Publisher: Pandemic Studios/LucasArts
GameRankings: 85.32%
Completely Arbitrary Personal Score: 7.6/10 (Above Average)

More mayhem! More factions! More levels! More space stuff! This is the main draw of Battlefront II, and it delivers on that premise gloriously. Nothing more, nothing less. There is a surprisingly contemplative Temuera Morrison voice over between the so-called campaign levels, but it's only there because Temuera Morrison is awesome and we all deserve more of him. Other than that, it's really just an advanced version of the same batshit craziness that made the original Battlefront one of the most gleefully replayable offline shooters since Perfect Dark. I played this game last year, five years after release, and it's still unfairly fun in short bursts. Play it.